


Since We Were Young

by TheMalhamBird



Series: Plantagenet Student AU [2]
Category: 14th Century CE RPF
Genre: F/M, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-10-05 02:55:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20481680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMalhamBird/pseuds/TheMalhamBird
Summary: Henry has had a crush on his childhood friend since forever. Now that they're all at university together, Richard is damn well going to make sure something happens about it-- even if it means yelling an invitation for a date at her across the canteen on Henry's behalf.





	Since We Were Young

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Proposal](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20412127) by [heartofstanding](https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartofstanding/pseuds/heartofstanding). 

> So, nuingiliath's latest *amazing* fic reminded me that a good long while back I wrote something set in a modern au where Richard and Henry were at university together. I dug it out, reworked it a bit (a lot) and...this is the result!

Henry hates the student canteen with a passion. It’s noisy and over crowded, with far too many tables and chairs rammed in to too small a space, and the food is barely passing edible. Besides which, Richard isn’t here yet, which means Henry is sitting by himself, peeling soggy and over-salted batter off a piece of cod with a plastic knife and fork and looking as though he doesn’t have any friends. Richard isn’t late, not really- five minutes barely counts especially where Richard is concerned- but even so, Henry’s starting to worry that—

“Hi!” Richard arrives out of nowhere, out of breath, and throwing himself in to the plastic chair opposite. His hair is a mess, his face pink- he looks, in fact, like he ran half way across campus. “Sorry, sorry, I was working on some coursework and I lost track of time-“ his hands are streaked with paint. There’s a smudge of green on his nose.

“It’s fine” Henry says. “Are you going to get yourself something to eat?”

“I’m not really hungry,” Richard says, reaching over and pinching a lump of batter of Henry’s plate, licking his fingers as he pops it in to his mouth. Henry briefly debates whether trying to persuade Richard that lunch is important and he ought to have his own is worth the potential argument, and decides he can’t be bothered.

“When’s your deadline?” he asks instead, and Richard grins, looking incredibly proud of himself.

“Week twelve,” he says. End of term. It’s only week seven, and Henry can’t help smiling back.

“That’s good,” he says, “Richard, that’s really good!”

“I’m ahead,” Richard says, practically sparkling with excitement. “I’m ahead with my work!” his excitement dims somewhat as he adds, slightly crestfallen, “I don’t suppose it will mean much, though. To your dad, I mean. I did send him a text, but…” Richard gives a half shrug and Henry winces in sympathy. Richard is right- it won’t. His father had hit the roof when, at the end of a disastrous first semester when- having worked himself in to nearly having a second nervous breakdown and still somehow managing to have missed every deadline, Richard announced that he was quitting the law degree Henry’s father had bullied him in to, and switching to fine arts instead. Henry still doesn’t know how Richard had the nerve to pull it off, because he would never have done it, and Richard will be working through the summer in order to try and catch up- but as things stand right now, he doesn’t seem to mind that prospect. He is, for the first time in their lives that Henry can remember, _happy _at school- and so Henry pushes another lump of batter in his direction and says, daringly,

“Sod my dad.”

Richard laughs, and steals one of Henry’s chips.

“So what about you?” he asks, “How are things in Henry-land?”

“Oh, you know.” Henry shrugs. “Fine. My classes are all…fine…” he trails off as he catches sight of Mary walking in, a tray balanced in her arms and her bag hanging off her shoulder as she casts about for a place to sit. Henry almost waves at her- there are plenty of spare seats around the table he and Richard have commandeered- but then, Henry thinks, she’s probably already looking for other friends and wouldn’t necessarily want- “Ow!” he said indignantly, as Richard’s toe collided with his ankle. “What was that for?”

“I _said, _do you still think music and politics is a double honours that works, or are you going to take your own advice, sod your dad, and drop down to single honours music like I know you want to?” Richard says. “What’s suddenly come in that’s more interesting than me, anyway?” He twists around in his seat. “_Ah,” _he says. “I _see.”_ He looks back at Henry. “Have you asked her out yet?”

“No.”

“Are you going to?”

Henry bitterly regrets ever mentioning have liked Mary for a good long while to Richard, back when they were sixteen, because Richard_ has not let it go since. _

“There’s a rumour going around that you shagged Robert de Vere on the bathroom floor at a house party a couple of weeks ago,” he says nastily, “Do you think Anne’s heard about it yet?” Not that he would tell Richard’s girlfriend , who he likes, and who has probably been the best thing to happen to Richard ever, about the gossip–Henry doesn’t actually think Richard is stupid enough to pull a stunt like that. But Richard is overly sensitive to any hint of negative talk about him and if it changes the subject-

“Well given that she was watching, I’d say so” Richard says, without skipping a beat, before ploughing straight on with “I thought you said you were going to ask her out once we were all uni?”

Henry stares, flabbergasted, and unable to process exactly what it is his cousin’s just told him automatically replies : “I was, and I am, I just-“

“And then in first semester, it was in second semester, and now we’re in second semester-“

“-I want to wait for the right time-“

“-she’s doing music as well, right, you have classes together, just ask her for coffee-“

“-it’s not that simple, Richard, just because you’re a- a- whatever the hell you are, most people do these things nicely, I can’t just blurt it out-“

“Why not?”

“Richard-“

“Hey Mary!” Richard yells, twisting to his feet and Henry goes crimson, mortified.

“Richard!”

“Mary!”

“Sit down!”

“Mary, Harry’s fancied you since you were both kids will you _please _come over here and offer to go on a date with him!?”

The entire canteen goes temporarily silent. Henry wants the ground to swallow him whole- Mary, too, looks embarrassed, frozen to the spot and blushing bright pink and Christ, she’s so pretty when she blushes- she’s pretty anyway and Richard, stupid, idiot Richard has probably blown everything forever and-

Mary starts to pick her way towards them. The canteen seems to collectively loose interest as everyone goes back to their own conversations, and then Mary is sitting down and Richard just grins infuriatingly like he has no idea what he’s just done and plopping back down himself.

“Hey,” Mary says shyly, and Henry mutters something he thinks might have been “ngggkh” but he’s not entirely sure. His face is on fire, he’s sure of it. “So, um- is it true?” Mary asks, and then as Richard says, emphatically, ‘yes’ adds, “Wasn’t asking you, Dickon.”

God, she’s wonderful. The only person to ever keep her eyes solely on Henry when his charming, charismatic cousin is also in the room- talking to her, no less- the only person she’s ever seen dismiss Richard in Henry’s favour-

“Yes,” Henry says, suddenly calm in his complete certainty that even if she turns him down, at least he will have told her, and he’ll know for certain. In this precise moment, there is nothing in his world except Mary.

“Good,” Mary says “Because I’ve fancied you since we were little, too.”

“Really?” Henry says, feeling- he doesn’t even know what he’s feeling- love, relief- annoyance at himself for being an idiot and waiting so long.

“Really,” Mary says, and takes his hand and squeezes it, and it’s wonderful, and they both laugh suddenly.

“You’re welcome,” Richard announces, scraping his chair back and getting to his feet. “I’m going to leave you to it. Coffee, Henry,” he adds, throwing Henry. “Make sure you actually invite her for coffee.”

Henry throws batter at Richard’s face. It lands in his hair. Mary giggles, and Richard flips him off, still looking far too pleased with himself. “Catch you later,” he says, and goes, and Henry turns back to Mary, who is still holding his hand, and says “Do you want to go some place nicer and get something actually decent to eat?”

And Mary says, “the student bar? We could share a pizza.”, and all is right with the world.

**Author's Note:**

> if anyone's interested in seeing how much has changed, the original version of this can be found at
> 
> https://themalhambird.tumblr.com/post/181331056177/themalhambird-the-golden-ghost-im-so-sorry#notes
> 
> thanks for reading!


End file.
